The New Year has sure started out on a cold, wintry note. The recent sub-zero temperatures are something we haven’t seen in Kentucky in years and something I don’t think we’ll ever get used to.

I know as I get older, the cold weather just seems to reach deeper into the old gut and chill me to the bone with each passing day. Not to worry, God has a plan and spring will be here soon which of course brings with it great fishing and spring turkey season in the Bluegrass.

I want to start out this month’s column by dedicating this writing in memory of Kenny Detherage. Kenny was an avid outdoorsman and the Lilly/Detherage clans have always been like a family. I’ll never forget the many dove hunts the two families shared together over the years, the goat cookings and the many other good times. As outdoorsmen, I feel I can speak for us all; we have lost a great one. Kenny lost his battle with cancer on November 30, 2013. Thoughts and prayers are with this wonderful family.

My favorite time of the year has arrived once again. I have just returned home from a business trip to Gettysburg, Pa., and actually enjoyed the eight-plus hour drive through the mountains of West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The brilliant fall colors of the leaves can be somewhat distracting when you’re driving not to mention the wildlife. I truly have what some might call a “turkey neck” or “owl head” when driving through such wildlife-rich country.

John Hill Jr. took this 9-point buck, his first with a bow, on Sept. 14. He was hunting on his grandmother's farm in western Anderson County. Hill says he is going to mount his prize. Send deer harvest photos to jpherndon@theandersonnews.com.

Another great Kentucky fall is upon us. The fall season brings with it a plethora (pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever typed that word and I am grateful for the automatic spell check on my laptop) of outdoor opportunities for outdoorsmen.

Squirrel season opened a few weeks back to several nice cool mornings and the first segment of the early season continues right up to the opening of deer gun season.